Top Takeaways From Meta's $17B Kid Safety Deal

By Emily Field and Cara Salvatore

A $17.1 billion deal with 29 states and Meta Platforms Inc. that includes reforms to Facebook and Instagram to protect children is seen as a benchmark for other settlements with social media companies as litigation and public pressure mounts over mental health harms to youth.

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Meta Makes $17B Deal With States Over Child Harms

By Matthew Santoni

Meta has agreed to pay up to $17.1 billion and enact reforms to Facebook and Instagram to resolve sprawling social media addiction claims, in the midst of a high-stakes bellwether trial over whether the company hid or downplayed its platforms' allegedly harmful impact on minors, state enforcers say.

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SEC, SBB Resolve Misvalued Funds Case Ahead Of Sept. Trial

By Gina Kim

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and SBB Research Group LLC told an Illinois federal judge that they've reached a settlement that would resolve the long-running litigation alleging the fund adviser misled investors about the performance of some of the funds it oversaw, and to scrap the planned September trial date.

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States Renew Bid To Block New Mail-In Ballot Rule

By Julie Manganis

A coalition of 24 states and the District of Columbia again asked a Massachusetts federal judge on Wednesday to block implementation of the U.S. Postal Service's rule restricting delivery of mail-in ballots, after the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for an earlier injunction to be lifted.

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Apple Seeks Win In Biometric Privacy Case, Citing 7th Circ.

By Celeste Bott

A recent Seventh Circuit decision affirming Samsung's win in a biometric privacy suit means Apple should prevail over similar claims, the tech giant has told an Illinois federal judge, arguing for summary judgment in a class action alleging that Apple's Photos app collects users' faceprints without permission.

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7th Circ. Holds High Court Ruling Supports Ark. PBM Rule

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Seventh Circuit refused Wednesday to revive a union fund's challenge to an Arkansas rule making health plans disclose pharmacy compensation and pay fees, backing a lower court's holding that the rule was in line with a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that permitted state cost regulations on pharmacy benefit managers.

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Fla. Judge Trims Claims In Bitcoin ATM Code Theft Suit

By David Minsky

A Florida federal judge allowed most of an Illinois software company's claims of bitcoin ATM source code theft to proceed against its former developer and others, but tossed two counts of conversion after finding the allegations couldn't be sustained. 

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Brief

Ill. Aid-Fixing Trial Delayed As 7th Circ. Review Proceeds

By Lauraann Wood

Students and several elite private universities will have to postpone their trial over an alleged financial aid fixing scheme while the Seventh Circuit reviews expert-related findings that have allowed the case to proceed as a class action, an Illinois federal judge said Wednesday.

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Brief

Ill. Judge OKs Direct Buyers' Last Turkey Deals, Striking Trial

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois federal judge struck an October turkey price-fixing trial on Wednesday as he gave his early blessing to the last two settlements resolving direct purchasers' claims in the consolidated litigation.

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Calif. Bill Curbing PE Role In Litigation Heads To Newsom

By Lauren Berg

A California bill to ban corporate investors from influencing litigation strategy is heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk after passing with bipartisan support from the state Legislature.

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Pillsbury Settles Ex-Recruiting Director's Pregnancy Bias Suit

By Grace Elletson

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP has settled a Black former director's suit claiming the law firm fired her weeks after she shared that she was pregnant and would need accommodations, according to a Tennessee federal court filing.

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DOJ Flags Breach Of Internal Policies In Apple Suit

By Bryan Koenig

The U.S. Department of Justice told a New Jersey federal judge Tuesday that its staffers breached internal policies when they shared personally identifiable information with an outside discovery vendor that was hired not by the department, but instead by the DOJ's state attorneys general partners, in the monopolization case against Apple.

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Prosecutors Say Goldstein Must Stay Behind Bars

By Jared Foretek

Federal prosecutors told the Fourth Circuit on Tuesday to keep convicted Supreme Court attorney Thomas Goldstein behind bars while he appeals his conviction, arguing that he remains a serious flight risk with wealthy overseas connections and "an ongoing danger" whose tax crimes continued "even after conviction."

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Arizona Atty Reprimanded For Series Of AI Errors

By Matt Perez

An Arizona federal judge has formally reprimanded a lawyer who admitted to filing four briefs that contained errors including false quotes and a faulty case summary generated with artificial intelligence amid an employment discrimination suit, noting the lawyer previously faced sanctions on two separate occasions for violating court rules.

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House Committee Wants DOL IG To Widen Info-Sharing Probe

By Benjamin Morse

Top House Education and Workforce Committee Republicans urged the U.S. Department of Labor's watchdog Wednesday to expand its review of information-sharing arrangements with outside groups, asking whether three additional agencies improperly disclosed confidential investigative material during the Biden administration.

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